Install a smart home energy meter in your home
You know how Grandma and Grandpa's house was always cold in the winter and hot in the summer – how if you ever complained the answer was "put on a sweater" or "go play outside"?
Well, there's a good reason for that. Grandma and Grandpa knew better than to waste energy, and there are even more pressing reasons to monitor our energy consumption today. Energy used for electricity and heat accounts for almost 40 percent of the U.S.'s annual greenhouse gas emissions. Powering your home more efficiently can make a big impact with minimal sacrifice.
In 2005, the average American's carbon footprint was 23.5 metric tons of greenhouse gases every year. Installing a home energy meter and making the most of your home energy use can save you a whopping 6.5 metric tons (about 14,000 pounds) per year – more than the weight of a bull African elephant. That will translate to your pocket book as well.
If half of all American households installed a home energy meter to better understand when and how they use energy, and used that information to begin to sensibly cut down their energy use, we would prevent at least 340 million metric tons of greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere. That's as much as closing down 134 coal-fired power plants for a year.
The "How To" We won't lie to you, this one takes a little know-how, so here's some tips to get your pledge underway.
First, go to one of the sites below, which will help you figure out the best way to move forward. The best thing to do is to monitor your energy use in real-time, using a "smart" meter provided by your power company or that you install yourself – in tandem with energy monitoring software. If you can't install a smart meter, take a self-guided tour of your home to identify energy-saving opportunities and monitor your monthly energy use.
Start with www.google.com/powermeter to learn more about smart meters that monitor your energy use for you in real-time, or visit EarthAid, an online tool that educates users about their monthly energy and water use, helps them save, and rewards users when they do save. EarthAid is also linked right into Team Earth, so your pledge to this team gives you a free pass to Earth Aid's community as well.
You can also use the Department of Energy's website to find tons of tips and some fantastic home energy audit tools.
So get started! You may be surprised at how much energy you are currently wasting, and how quickly you can make a dent in not only your carbon emissions, but your budget's bottom line.